Environmental News: Public Comment Period For DRAFT Priority Habitat Maps Of Rare Species

Apr 05, 2017 05:38AM
● Published by Theresa Gilman

Dept of Fisheries and Wildlife

(Editor's Note: the following information was published on the Town of Dracut website.)

Public Comment Period For Draft Priority Habitat Maps Of
Rare Species:April 3, 2017 through June 3, 2017

The Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP)
of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has recently announced the
availability of draft Priority Habitat maps for public comment beginning on
April 3, 2017.

This program is aiming to update their maps, which have been
revised to reflect new biological information, regulatory changes put into
effect on October 2010, as well as land use changes. Specifically, the Division is requesting public comment on the status
of areas proposed for delineation or removal as Priority Habitat regarding the
physical and biological features of the habitat, or the current scope of
existing development in the area.

The draft priority habitat map for the 14th edition of the
Natural Heritage Atlas should be used for commenting purposes only and not for
project planning or regulatory review. The 13th Edition Atlas (available
through the Division website located at www.mass.gov/nhesp) is still in effect
until the 14th Edition is officially published.

The written comment
period will end on June 3, 2017. Written comments on the proposed Priority Habitat map may be submitted to the Division electronically, as explained
on the above-referenced website, or by submitting them to the Division at the
following address: